Master of the average budget and random drop test. Review of the smartphone Nokia 7 plus

The company HMD Global quite successfully (at least outwardly) is gaining space under the sun, to the best of its ability to revive the mobile brand. He was somewhat depressed, being under the wing of Microsoft, and it was not just the operating system. Those times behind, the owner of the brand switched to another popular OS, and also actively occupies all price niches, producing both cheap “dialers” and top “smart phones”.

The smartphone Nokia 7 plus has already reached the counters: in Russia it was estimated at $ 500 in equivalent, the same it will cost in Belarus (it will appear in the trade networks since April 14). One copy was at our disposal. The manufacturer has released the device in two colors – in black and white. Combine their design elements of a copper shade. True, the edging of the main photomodule looks a bit superfluous, butts look more harmoniously.

Design

It would be strange to see the “almost flagship” in the plastic case. Obviously, Nokia 7 plus is packed in metal and glass. The back panel has a multi-layer coating (in the company it is called “ceramic”), reminiscent of soft touch. Unfortunately, it is not very effective against the appearance of prints and is quickly covered with a “protective drawing”. At the same time, the smartphone will not slip out of hand.

From the face of the device, and even with the screen off, it is difficult to distinguish from many others. Under the glass, a thin copper-colored insert is visible, circling the display in a circle. On the perimeter of the case, too, passes a metallic insert of copper color. At the bottom and sides there are plastic antenna inserts – unfortunately, different from the tape shade.

The SIM tray is located on the left sidewall, the power button and the volume rocker on the right side. The buttons are polished and have a clear stroke. At the top there is a 3.5 mm headphone jack, on the bottom there is a Type-C connector, a main microphone and a pair of speaker holes.

A double chamber with the same copper edging and the inscription “ZEISS” between the lenses, placed on a pedestal, is located on the rear panel of a matte gray-black color. On the side is a double two-tone large flash. The fingerprint scanner is under the camera, it works instantly. The photomodule is noticeably elevated, but the finger regularly falls on the lower lens. True, if the fingerprint sensor were moved closer to the center, reaching it would not be so convenient.

Copper color near looks interesting, but at a distance it changes the shade to less noble.

Dimensions of the model – 158.38 × 75.64 × 7.99 mm without the camera, which adds a little more than a half millimeters (the final figure is 9.55 mm).

Display

The device received a 6-inch IPS-screen with a resolution of Full HD + (2160 × 1080) due to the ratio of 18: 9. For the same reason, the corners of the display are rounded, like other smartphones with the same aspect ratio. For comparison, “normal” Nokia 7 has a 5.2-inch screen with standard Full HD-resolution. It is worth noting that the processor installed in the “plus” is larger than 2560 × 1200 pixels, the resolution does not support.

Pleasant colors, brightness is not outstanding, but quite sufficient. The pixel density is 403 ppi, which is also an average. This could be attributed to the fact that we have a midranger, but taking into account the price, the assertion is controversial. However, this is not a minus, but only an aspect that ordinary user will not pay attention to.

Sound

The smartphone has a single speaker with a “smart amplifier”. Thanks to it, the sound quality improves, but how exactly, HMD Global does not specify. Nevertheless, the sound is really good and creates a volume effect, there is an illusion of stereo speakers. At maximum volume, it remains clear, except that low frequencies may not suffice (they are not obvious, there is no juiciness). In headphones, the sound is traditionally much more saturated.

The effects of the drop test are noticeable on the edging

Also, the device is equipped with three microphones with an active noise reduction system. Nokia OZO Audio technology provides the ability to record audio for later playback with all the audio tones.

Battery life and performance

The model received a 14-nm Snapdragon 660 processor with Adreno 512 graphics and Hexagon 680 DSP technology, which is designed to improve the energy efficiency of the chip, while maintaining sufficient performance. Now it’s fashionable to talk about artificial intelligence in mobile processors, and Qualcomm is no exception. In fact, silicon does everything the same as before, simply, maybe a little better. Speech in this case is about processing photos and video, sound and game support.

The chip has four Kryo cores with a clock speed of 2.2 GHz and four – with 1.8 GHz.

The same processor is installed in smartphones such as Oppo R11 Plus, the older version of Sharp Aquos S2, Xiaomi Mi Note 3 and others. We can say that Snapdragon 660 is the successor to Snapdragon 653 and a kind of “budget” version of Snapdragon 835.

In synthetic tests on performance, the device did not enter the “top-10”, but this is not necessary – we are increasingly convinced that this is a “ruler for geeks”, measuring mythical parrots, but giving little information about real speed in everyday tasks . In the games of lags and brakes it was not noticed. Occasionally, the effect of reduced fps was observed, but this is more likely due to the features of the screen or the games themselves.

The Nokia 7 plus has a battery with a capacity of 3800 mAh. With the processor, relatively low screen resolution and Android drain without additional “enhancers” of the interface and functionality, the battery should last more than a day.

The smartphone really worked for the promised to manufacturers two days on one charge – with a sane volume of telephone conversations (without half a dozen hour conversations) and infrequent, but regular calls to the Internet, checking social networks, communicating in instant messengers, rare gaming sessions. However, if desired, the battery can be dropped in a couple of hours – it’s enough to run a resource-demanding game.

Camera

Apparatus received 12 megapixel main camera with a lens f / 1.75 pixel and the large (1.4 μm), a pair of which is 13-megapixel digital camera module with a lens f / 2.6 (1.0 μm), necessary for shooting with the approach and every effects. The front camera is 16 megapixel. All three modules are equipped with ZEISS optics. Thanks to the SmartLock function of the operating system, the front camera can be used to unlock the smartphone. The algorithm differs from the built-in function, which sends the user to the desktop, – in our case, you need to swipe across the screen.

In Nokia, of course, there is a professional shooting mode, as well as panorama and bokeh modes. The latter is useful for portrait and subject photography. The camera starts smartly, switching between the photo and video mode occurs almost without delay. In conditions of insufficient illumination the frames are recorded almost instantly, but in the half-darkness the phone will have to be held still longer. Implemented a live broadcast on Facebook and YouTube.

At the same time, the electronic image stabilizer works efficiently. OIS, typical for the flagships, is missing – either because of the desire to reduce the price of the smartphone, or because the EIS is enough. In practice, however, it is not entirely clear what is required for zoom – at maximum in quality such photos make us recall the 0.7-megapixel camera of button mobile phones.

The usual pictures are juicy. In colors they seem embellished in comparison with reality, but this is what the people demand. Small details remain separate elements, not sticking together in “watercolor”.

conclusions

The hardest part is those smartphones that are in the price range between top-end models and inexpensive ones. The device Nokia 7 plus applies just to such devices. Sometimes it seems that it is better to overpay a little and take something more abruptly. The same Nubia or OnePlus. At the same time, the Nokia brand is still associated with higher quality, and the reason is not the least in its history.

“Seven” gets the pros for the screen, sound, performance, stock Android, as well as the camera and partly the look. Minuses? Traditionally, the price, as for the same money you can find mobile phones with more advanced technical characteristics (but also with less advanced ones).

Oh yes, during close acquaintance Nokia 7 plus decided to jump out of the pocket of the jacket, in which before it was fine felt an easier and less large smartphone. An improvised drop test from a height of just over a meter to the ceramic tile led to damage to the case – a dent appeared in one of the corners, as well as chipped paint at three other points on the rear panel (probably due to its deformation during the impact). Nevertheless, the screen remains intact, the device is working.